Last Run (PMMM AU)
by xrksvi
Summary: Homura has spent 1 million years collecting weapons of all sorts to finally purge Walpurgisnacht on her own. Now, she faces the even harsher task of saving the rest of the quintet that she had neglected for so long. AN: IF YOU HADN'T NOTICED, I HAVE NEVER WRITTEN A STORY BEFORE, SO THIS IS PRETTY NEW. IF I SUCK AT THIS, THEN BIG WELP. Also, I don't recommend you read this right now
1. Chapter 1

1 million years.

8 million resets.

Even though every reset meant another doomed timeline, Homura could not help but bask in a little pride for surviving for so long.

It was no easy feat to keep such a charade going for such a long time. At any point, she could have slipped up. A misguided bullet, an unintentional explosion too close to her Soul Gem, and everything would have been all for nothing.

After so many years, Homura could barely remember her age. Her once timid and frightened emotions, for all it was worth, had all but disappeared. The idea that she, in any place or time, could have worn those ridiculous braids and glasses, was laughable.

Not that she had much humor or emotion left.

Yet, despite that, Homura had always kept her burning determination, the pounding beat of the one purpose that propelled her forwards. It pained her greatly to abandon Sayaka, Kyoko, Mami, and sometimes even Madoka, if she were to test out new, creative methods to escape her fate.

It was painfully clear that mortars, grenades, and the rest of her fickle weaponry were next to worthless against her fight with Walpurgisnacht. If Homura would ever hope of finding a path out of her labyrinth, she would have to venture out of Mitakihara to find the key to her problems.

A single timeline of collecting weaponry is not enough. If Walpurgisnacht were to die, it would have to be a single intensive strike of absolute certainty, a battle that would guarantee no quarter.

And thus began her long grueling plan to conquer fate, her pilgrimage alone on a dark and dusty road.

She needed new weapons, better weapons. If bombs and bullets will not suffice, then missiles and plutonium should sate her needs.

1 million years of collecting ammunition.

1 million years of intensive planning.

1 shot.

_Here we go._

* * *

Chapter 1:

Homura's head jerked immediately to the side, her arms quivering for a second, grasping firmly on the creaking hospital bed. Her throat choked on empty air, still breathing in the last gasp of the doomed world that she had just fled. Her eyes darted around, peering for any signs of immediate danger. Despite the numerous jumps she made, Homura had never truly adjusted to the uneasy effects of rewinding time. Her subconscious hoped that it would be the last.

Homura looked around her. The settings were the same as usual: a delicate set of curtains drifting in the warm spring air, the aesthetic yet dull white walls laden with worn paint, and the small bed that she laid in, paired up with an elegantly crafted chair.

After rubbing her wearily rubbed her eyes and imbuing them with magic, Homura slowly sat up against the crinkling bed. She grasped her hair and carefully undid her braids, a single flick of her finger sending waves of hair cascading through the air. Her heart began to beat faster, her feeble cells reinforced with magic.

Healing her body was something that Homura has become familiar with, over the years. The recollection that she had, what once was, a frail, shy, and immature child seemed beyond fathomable. The years of jumping timelines had been cruel, slowly wearing her shy personality into a cruel, cold husk. While her body was healable, Homura could not but worry that her mind was beyond repair.

With each leap, Homura became stronger, smarter, yet more isolated and agonized. Every single time she had tried to interact with anyone other than Madoka has ended with rejection, any cry for help met with distrust. Pain and despair were old friends, agony and silence her only companions.

Yet, within that ocean of tar and despair, Homura still continued to desperately fuel that one spark, that one bastion of hope. Her heart now pumped not the pained blood of a failing body, yet the exhilaration of the end that drew near. After so many years of failures, the finish line was now in sight.

With so much firepower on her side, Walpurgisnacht has never looked more mortal.

Homura never felt better as she strode out of her bleak room.

* * *

The pen glided swiftly, deliberately over the paper as Homura carved her signature. The doctors and nurses looked at her with slight curiosity, pondering loose thoughts of her appearance and behavior. The calendar next to Homura's bed had reminded her that it was Wednesday, March 16th. The worn clock, clicking with great precision, reminded that noon soon approached. One by one, Homura signed, filled, and forged the papers towards her early release. The files and sheets stacked next to her slowly began to trickle down. By the time the clock struck 2, Homura was well on her way out, flanked by nurses, who bade her farewell.

* * *

The sun had started its voyage down beneath the mountains that harbored the grand city of Mitakihara. Homura trudged along with her possessions, glancing along the arches and bridges she crossed, peering at the architectural wonder that she called home. As she walked, which each step she took, Homura began to formulate the plan of attack that she would execute vigorously during this timeline.

_Naturally, the best outcome would be the survival of the entire quintet_, Homura reasoned. With Mami, Sayaka, and Kyoko all preserved, Madoka will never have to go through her plight of emotional trauma. The quintet can also be easily exploited, if properly done, to work against Walpurgisnacht, and any further complications ahead.

Homura lightly bit her lip, sighing in frustration about Sayaka Miki, who always ended up causing trouble to every timeline she was in. No matter where, no matter when, she would always show up and cause inconsistencies in Homura's affairs, a constant reminder that luck and stupidity are the wreckers of all but the best laid plans.

It was clear. Sayaka Miki was never meant to be a magical girl. In order to secure Kyoko's life and Madoka's sanity, she could never be allowed to contract.

Homura knew that she had 2 days before school officially started for her. If she were to survive to, and beyond Walpurgisnacht, she needed to keep Kyubey away from Madoka.

Mami will be difficult, but possible to contain. Kyoko will fall in line, whether she likes to or not.

Of course, that was all contingent on getting Sayaka out of the picture.

* * *

The antique clock rang at 6:00 PM on March 17th. The kitchen phone rang with a familiar tone. Sayaka, who had just returned from a cherished visit to Kyosuke, was furiously washing the dishes when Madoka's call came. She helplessly cursed at herself, as her gloves, saturated with soap, weren't able to answer the receiver. Hearing the buzz, Sayaka's parents picked up the phone instead.

"Hello, this is Mr. Miki."

A whispering buzz.

"Oh, it's you, Miss Kaname," Sayaka's father enthusiastically replied.

Another pause.

"Of course, it's so nice to hear your voice again."

Sayaka's father turned towards Sayaka, who was scrubbing against the pot with a miffed expression.

"The call is for you, Darling."

Sayaka mumbled, "yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll get it once I'm done."

Sayaka's father turned back towards the phone.

"Mrs. Sayaka is a bit, ehh… busy at the moment. I'm sure she'll be able to call you back soon."

This time, Sayaka's ears could pick up the faint pleading of Madoka's voice, as she sprouted an apology about any form of inconvenience that she might have caused.

"Ah, it's fine, it's fine! Don't worry about it. She'll get back to you as soon as possible."

Pause.

"Alright, have a good night."

On the final syllable, Sayaka heard the receiver drop.

"Sayaka, once you're done washing the dishes, you should really start on your homework."

Sayaka's mind filled with dissent.

"Ok, ok, good grief."

"Don't talk to me like that, young lady. A 'B' in math might seem appealing to some students, but not to our family. In fact, Madoka just called to even offer a study session with you."

Despite the extra threat of studying, Sayaka could not but feel proud to have Madoka as a caring and doting friend.

"Fine, fine, I'll get to it," she muttered with false enthusiasm.

"That's the spirit. Now, your mother and I are going to participate quickly in a brief school meeting about the new classes that are being offered to your grade next year. I estimate that we will be back in 4 hours. I expect that you'll have your homework and cleaning done by that time."

"Yeah, I'll hold down the fort."

The worn front door slammed shut, the delicate sounds of key and lock plinking into place. Sayaka proceeded to finish sanitizing the last of the dinner plate before grabbing her cell phone, jogging two steps at a time up the stairs, and crash-diving into the velvet blankets on her bed. She silently chucked, her nimble fingers pawing at the buttons on her phone. She waited patiently, twilight falling, for her friends to answer her call.

"Y'llo?" Sayaka heard on the other side.

"Hiya, Madoka, it's me, your future wife!"

Sayaka could hear Madoka's giggling on the other end, and could only imagine her blushing.

"So… Sayaka, did your parents tell you about the study session that I'm going to hold tomorrow?"

The brief recollections of memory flashed before Sayaka's eyes. "Yeah, they did."

"So… are you in?"

Sayaka thought for a moment.

"Fine…" she said reluctantly.

Madoka gently cheered on the other end, chattered for a while, bade goodbye, and cut the connection.

With the call over, Sayaka paused and played video games for an hour, before uneventfully grabbing her worksheet and heading towards her desk.

After an hour of calculating and googling the answer sheet, Sayaka stared at her newly completed homework with finality. She roughly filed it away into her school binder, switching to her pajamas shortly afterward as she stumbled towards her bed. Following a brief shower and a vigorous dental brushing, Sayaka's energy had dropped to zero. She wearily glanced at her alarm clock, which read 9:00 PM. She hurried off the bed, and almost made it in when the doorbell buzzed.

_So close, yet so far away_, Sayaka grumbled in her mind as she returned to the door. She was surprised that her parents had returned an hour earlier than they were supposed to but wasn't too genuinely surprised. Maybe the teachers had recommended her extra basic and childish courses, and her embarrassed parents had left due to shame, Sayaka prophesized glumly, fumbling with the doorknob.

She, however, didn't understand why her parents just didn't open the door with their key. _They probably lost it_, Sayaka mused, _or maybe they just wanted to get me to come to them, so they can scream at me_.

However, Sayaka instead found herself staring at a girl with jet-black hair and purple eyes, emotionlessly staring into Sayaka's eyes.

"Uhh... Hello, how ca-"

Sayaka was immediately cut off as the mysterious person instantly disappeared. She stumbled back onto the soft carpet of the entrance hallway, blinking her eyes, convinced that seeing was believing.

"What is goi-"

Suddenly, a hand shot out from behind Sayaka, restraining both of her arms to the side. Another arm appeared soon after, forcing a small piece of cloth over Sayaka's mouth. One breath in and Sayaka could already tell that it was laced with an untraceable chemical. The black hair that had flung out from behind gave Sayaka all the indication that her mysterious kidnapper was the girl that she saw.

The combined weight of both individuals forced Sayaka to fall down to her side, with the mysterious attacker falling down as well. Sayaka could to nothing but desperately roll around, restrained by her attacker as everything faded to black.

* * *

Homura stored Sayaka into her shield for the time being. Doing such was a dangerous gamble, as placing a clumsy and foolhardy girl like Sayaka with a million years' worth of artillery was a potential blunder in the making. She closed the front door carefully, before peeling off her gloves and shoving them into her shield.

Homura set off into the night.

* * *

It was a beautiful day outside; birds are singing; the wind stood calm at a standstill. Madoka had passed a few gardens and saw that the flowers were in full bloom. The air was crisp as if she were standing on a mountaintop. She felt wonderful that summer was finally approaching.

Madoka glanced outwards into the blue sky, feeling anxious as much as she felt wonderful. She was constantly worried about her friends, of course, but on this particular day, she felt that her concern was based upon more genuine ground.

At first, she waited under the cherry blossom trees, she winced in anticipation of Sayaka, expecting her to jump out and chase her around. They would usually run to school together, oblivious strange glances from their fellow students. She could not wait for the weekend to arrive, where she could go out with Sayaka and Hitomi to the mall and fantasize over the clothes that they'll one they wear, who'll they marry, and the careers they aspired. They would carefully wait in line for hours, tapping their toes impatiently over the next movie that would come out, or delectably tasing every flavor of ice cream selections that was offered in a shop found in one small, minute corner of the mall.

She waited under the shade of the tree, greeting Hitomi as the duo waited for Sayaka to appear.

…

…

But.

Nobody came.

Madoka was a bit concerned. She recalled her call with Sayaka and wondered if Sayaka had stayed up all night studying, resulting in her being late. Madoka exchanged nervous glances with Hitomi, and then her phone.

It was Friday 18, March 2011. The time was 7:45 AM. School starts in 15 minutes.

Where was Sayaka?

"Madoka."

Madoka suddenly broke out of her trance. She looked at Hitomi, who was staring at her worried.

"Madoka. I know that it's strange that Sayaka has disappeared, but we can't risk our attendance waiting for her."

"But… but…"

"Madoka, it's fine. Trust me. Sayaka will be fine. Besides, how many times has she been late?"

Madoka felt a small laugh coming up in her mouth after remembering all the times Sayaka had popped into school late, and the teacher would just go into a deviously boring monologue in front of the already suppressed class. Madoka then immediately felt bad for almost laughing.

"Ok… …I guess," she stammered.

Madoka and Hitomi walked reluctantly through the noisy and bland hallways of the school. Their footsteps were masked beneath the chatter and laughter of the students around them, and their eyes kept gazing out for anyone with blue hair.

To no relief, Sayaka was nowhere to be found.

Madoka glanced nervously around. The classroom she was in was tranquil, aesthetic, and beautiful, with neat little desks being organized with energetic students. The walls were built with modern designs in mind, being made mostly out of glass, and the floors were modeled with spotless wood. But without Sayaka in it, the entire room seemed… …off.

"All right students, settle down, SETTLE DOWN," Mrs. Saotome practically screeched. Everyone in the classroom looked at each other with hidden smiles, awaiting the speech that they were all expecting.

"Now, today, before we enter our L.A. and Math curriculums, I want to first mention the dangers of masculinity. I want everyone to pay attention to what I am going to say. First, men are…"

At this point, Madoka's focus shifted away from Mrs. Saotome's emotional release of stress from her breakup, and instead glanced at Sayaka's empty seat. She nervously peered at Hitomi, who appeared as the only person genuinely interested in Mrs. Saotome's speech, unlike the rest of the class.

Madoka could not figure out a reason why Sayaka could be this late. Studying? A broken alarm clock? Truancy? Madoka giggled slightly at the last idea. No way.

"AND THIS IS WHY YOU NEVER TRUST MEN. UNDERSTOOD?" Mrs. Saotome yelled.

Everyone nodded.

Even the boys.

"Ok, ok, now that that is out of the way," sighed Mrs. Saotome, her eyes closed with concentration. "It is time to take attendance. Ready?"

One by one, each of the students said "present." Two students were missing on field trips, one was sick. The teacher frowned when Sayaka's name came up. "That, that can't be right, can it? The class has already started by 10 minutes. She isn't usually this late. Hmm…"

Mrs. Saotome quickly went over to her laptop to check for excused absences, while the students looked at chattered around.

"Sayaka Miki?"

"Isn't she the weird one with Madoka?"

"I don't know, but why isn't she here?"

"I heard that there was a field trip for history class…?"

Madoka gave Hitomi a frantic glance. Hitomi, for her part, started to understand the seriousness of the situation.

"Ah, there's the email. My, my, the school board should really send me notices about student absences earlier than that," Mrs. Saotome muttered. "This was literally sent to me 5 minutes ago. How am I supposed to know in advance? Argh!"

A wave of snickers rolled across the classroom.

"Let's see what makes Miss Miki so privileged to not be in cla… huh? What the…"

The entire class suddenly became silent.

Miss Saotome read the email silently. Her eyes widened, blinked, and then narrowed.

"This is seriously…"

Miss Satome remained focused for a few moments, before slowly standing up.

"Attention, class. Mrs. Miki will probably not be in class for the next couple of weeks. In addition, the school and law enforcement will be monitoring students as they arrive and return from school, effective immediately."

The wave of silence became a wave of confusion.

"Huh?"

"Why?"

Madoka stood up almost immediately. "But why? What's going on? What happened to Sayaka?" she cried.

Mrs. Saotome took off her glasses and silently rubbed her forehead.

"Well, apparently, Mrs. Miki has been missing since last night. Although the police can't link the disappearance to criminal activity, they believe it is within the best interests of the school to post additional safety measures."

From the sudden reaction of the class, Madoka could already tell that Sayaka had become the new rumor of the school. Boys and girls alike were chattering around them, discussing possibilities about Sayaka's disappearance. Madoka's heart pained when theories such as kidnapping, abuse, and even murder arose.

"Ok, ok, SETTLE DOWN CHILDREN. Continuing what I was saying, I am glad to announce the arrival of a new transfer student."

The classroom fell silent once more.

Mrs. Saotome, sensing the silence as a signal to move forward, continued, "Today, a transfer student from Tokyo was brought here after being in the hospital due to heart disease. She has been hospitalized for a while now, and I expect to see all of you welcome her into our humble class."

Silence.

"Well, in that case, may I please present, Homura Akemi."

* * *

A girl with jet-black hair proceeded to enter through the door. She gracefully walked to the center of the room and stood, staring off into the distance as everyone soon found themselves staring right back. Madoka could already hear the whispers around her:

"Her hair…"

"It's so beautiful, right?"

"How did she get it that way?"

"Whoa."

Madoka, personally, didn't have much care for all these snippets of comments. The moment she laid eyes on Homura; she felt a sudden sense of déjà vu. Clutching her head, Madoka tried to refocus on her surrounds, noticing that Hitomi was peering at her in a very odd fashion. Managing a nervous laugh, Madoka turned her attention back towards Homura. She felt as if that somehow, seeing her…

…

...was like greeting an old friend.

Madoka giggled silently in her mind._ I'm going insane, aren't I? _ However, the sense of déjà vu only strengthened to the point where Madoka's head started hurting. What made it even more strange, is the look that Homura gave her.

…

…Madoka could have sworn that Homura had recognized her before, too.

Homura swiftly glided to the center of the room. She clutched a marker and started writing down her name on the whiteboard.

_Strange._

_It was a tradition for the teacher to write down the new student's names on the whiteboard. The way she did it…_

_…she's seen this all before, right?_

Madoka laughed this preposterous idea off, again, but somehow can't shake off the feeling that what she had just thought was true. Could she have had met Homura before, in some far-off place, and had forgotten who she was?

Looking around, though, Madoka seemed to be the only person who had realized this. Everyone else, Hitomi included, were just doting Homura on her silky, black hair. Madoka can see why. Homura radiated an aura of mystery, her looks defined the concept of beauty, and her talents were unimaginable. Within the first 5 minutes, Homura had solved an entire hour's worth of math questions. Even Homura's personality, cold and calculating, was all the rage around.

"Homura, what shampoo do you use?"

"Wow, your hair is so beautiful and smooth."

"What school did you go from?"

"You look nothing like someone sick in a hospital."

"Can I be your friend?"

Homura nonchalantly replied to all of the exceedingly taxing requests and questions around her. Over time, though, her patience quickly worn down, and she became slightly aggressive in each consecutive response, unnoticed by those around her.

Suddenly, she started clawing at her chest midsentence, taking in deep breaths as she looked dazed around her.

"I'm sorry, I just… I don't feel well. I- I must have forgotten to take my heart medication. Sorry to bother you all, but can anyone take me down to the health office?"

Everyone around Homura suddenly changed gears.

"Are you okay?"

"What happened?"

"I think it was the heart disease that the teacher was talking about acting up…"

Hitomi gently elbowed Madoka.

"A'y, Madoka. Shouldn't you be attending to Homura?"

Madoka paused for a moment, bewildered by what Hitomi had said.

…

"Oh wait, right!"

Madoka immediately rushed up to Homura, parting between her admirers and bowing quickly to Homura.

"I am so sorry to intrude, everyone, but I am the health aide. I'll take Homura down to the health office to get her medication."

Everyone around her muttered a series of disappointed yet understanding sighs. Homura, however, did not look surprised.

"Very well," she said, flicking her hair behind her, starting for the door.

Madoka followed suit, barely keeping up with Homura's pace.

* * *

Together, the duo navigated the maze-like architecture that made up one of Mitakihara's most prized schools. Homura and Madoka's shoes clinked against the floor as the chatter around them faded, replaced only by silence.

Madoka was slightly disturbed by the fact that Homura kept on walking in front of her, knowing where to go without any help. She also briefly opened her mouth when Homura walked right past the nurse's office, gently glanced at it, and kept on moving into deeper and deeper into the more remote parts of the school.

The two of them continued deeper and deeper into the mazelike hallways.

After a while, Homura suddenly stopped, with Madoka stumbling blindly behind her, catching her breath and eyeing Homura anxiously.

Both of them stood silently in the dim glass hallway, staring at each other.

…

"Madoka."

Madoka squeaked out a tiny "yes?"

Silence.

"Do you treasure your life?"

Madoka stepped backward at the question. The *clink* of her shoes echoed throughout the hallways.

"Uhh, y-y-yes?"

Madoka was confused. She understood that some people were, well, different from others. But Madoka, as intelligent as she was, couldn't dream up a solution to reason why Homura asked that question.

Homura continued onwards immediately as if she had heard Madoka's answer before.

"Listen, Madoka."

"Huh?"

…

"If someone or something comes up to you and offers you a deal that seems too good to be true, don't take it."

_Uhh…_

_What?_

Madoka, at this point, thought that she might have accidentally ingested some of the alcohol that her mother consumed. The complete randomness of the question threw her off guard. With both sunlight and shadows on her face, she looked at Homura with a blank, confused expression.

"I-I don't understand."

"Madoka!"

At this point, Homura grabbed Madoka's shoulders and started shaking her back and forth.

"Madoka, MADOKA. Please, listen to me. If someone, or something, comes up to you and offers you a deal, whatever you do, don't accept it's deal."

"But…but why would someone-"

"It doesn't matter Madoka. Do not accept it, at any cost. If you do, everything that you cherish, your life, your family, your friends, everything you own, everything you hold dear, will be gone."

Madoka felt like she was in a dream right now. A vivid, chaotic one.

"Homura, where is this idea coming fro-"

"Madoka, you don't understand."

At this point, Homura pulled her into a tight embrace.

"You don't understand. You're too kind, too nice. You deserve to live a good life, far away from any form of pain or nastiness. Please, listen to me."

Madoka felt like she was in an anime.

"Wha-"

"Madoka. If you hear something, if you see anything ordinary, run. Run away, get me as fast as possible. Don't get into trouble."

Madoka felt like she was in a REALLY bad fanfiction.

"Homura, you're scaring me. What are you talking about?"

"…"

"Madoka. I am so close to saving you. I am so close to saving all of us. I'll bear any burden for you. Even if it takes all of eternity. Just… keep yourself safe. Do not accept his deal. Do not sacrifice yourself for your friends. If you do these two things… then, by the end of this month, everything will be fine."

Homura started towards the other end of the hallway. Madoka tried to follow, but Homura shot her down with a stare. Madoka hadn't noticed at first, but she just realized that Homura's eyes looked different. It was as if something alive, something colorful and youthful used to dwell in Homura's eyes, and now it was simply replaced with a purple void.

Madoka realized just how **dead** Homura's eyes were.

"…"

"Madoka."

"Madoka, if you truly love your life…"

"Whatever you do…"

"**Don't change.**"

Homura suddenly disappeared. Madoka glanced everywhere: the adjacent hallways, the rooms next door, even the bathroom, to no avail. Homura just vanished into thin air. Madoka was left standing in the dimly lit corner, surrounded by a berth of shadows and light, staring at the spot where Homura had stood minutes ago.

"Oh."

"Okay…"

Madoka trudged back to class, her shoes echoing in the abandoned hallways. She gave a jolt as she peered through the translucent glass, only to find Homura sitting exactly where she was previously in class, a hand under her chin as if she were bored.

Later, throughout the day, Madoka would continue to hear snippets of conversations proclaiming Homura's graces.

"She ran the mile in 4 minutes!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah! It's almost unnatural!"

"I saw her in chemistry today as well. She was absolutely brilliant!"

Hour after hour, Madoka was drowned in people singing Homura's praises.

It doesn't matter where she went.

Wherever she walked, wherever she ran, Homura, or at least some part of her fame, would be waiting for her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Sayaka woke up to the brilliance of white. She looked around hazily, her eyes dazed and unseeing, starring at the dull, blank void that she was housed in. Slowly, over the course of a few minutes, Sayaka vision returned, slowly taking in her surroundings.

Looking around her, she saw that she was sitting in an old wooden chair at what appeared to be the center of the room. She was flanked by couches all around her, with a purple-eyed girl sitting silently on one of them, staring straight at her.

What made Sayaka the most uneasy was the floating, flickering images surrounding her, some of them showing blurred, scrambled images of her friends, and some of them depicting strangers that she, for some reason, felt like she has known her whole life.

The pendulum on the celling waved back and forth. The small gusts of air it made gently waved across Sayaka's hair.

Sayaka glared back at the mysterious girl sitting in front of her.

"Miki Sayaka, the fanatical heroine, we meet at last."

"Huh, wha… Where am I? What did you-"

At this point, Sayaka tried to stand up but suddenly realized that she bound tightly to the chair. She struggled as the rope chafed against her skin, before glaring back at her captor, who was watching with an amused smile.

_H-how did she know my name? D-did we meet before? W-why am I here?_ Sayaka thought.

"Help! HELP! SOME CRAZY GIRL KIDNAPPED ME!" Sayaka screamed, her head dangling over the ropes. She continued to scream with unabated breath, her despair growing with every additional second of silence.

Homura quickly got bored of this futile gesture, waiting patiently for Sayaka to give up.

The room soon fell silent for a few seconds, interrupted only by the ominous ticking of Homura's pendulum and Sayaka's frustrated gasps.

Leaning over the rope, Sayaka continued to desperately tug at her hands, before giving up the finality of the situation. She instead stared glaringly at the mysterious girl before her who remained passive, although Sayaka could tell that she was enjoying every second of this charade.

Tears started to form at Sayaka's eyes, as she started to cry out in pure desperation.

"Who-who are you? W-what do you want from me?" she sobbed.

Homura stood up abruptly and started walking towards Sayaka, her steps echoing throughout the room.

Sayaka immediately recoiled backward. Her mouth and eyes opened wide, fearful and wary. Her tears rolled silently over her face, over the rope that pressed tightly over her wrist and legs.

Homura could not help but find the situation adorable, as Sayaka twisted and turned, as the jet-black haired girl approach.

"No, NO. S-stay away from me. P… please don't hurt me. No!"

Sayaka squeezed her eyes as Homura walked up to her, sitting down directly in front of her, boring her gaze deep into Sayaka's pupils.

Sayaka's emotions ran wild as she struggled her head backward, only to find Homura staring directly at her with those cold, dead eyes.

"W-who are you?"

Homura smiled, her eyes shining with a twisted sentimentality.

"My name is Akemi Homura. We knew each other from another time, but it seems as if you had forgotten all about me" she said, a blank look on her face.

Sayaka's mind halted.

"Uhh… what?"

"You're confused? That's fine. As much as I might appear to hate you, Miki Sayaka, I cannot argue that I don't owe you an explanation."

Sayaka, blinked, shivering every time Homura's words pierced her ears.

"W-why are you doing this?"

Homura's face grew a nostalgic smile.

"Simple. Although you have been nothing but a thorn to my side for quite some time now, you remain one of Madoka's closest friends. If you were to get hurt or, heavens forbid, destroy yourself, you will end of drowning Madoka in despair."

Homura winced at the memory of the pained expression Madoka always wore whenever she realized Sayaka had become a witch.

"…as such, it is only logical that your life is about as valuable to me as Madoka's."

Silence.

"Sayaka Miki."

Sayaka felt Homura's voice right behind her.

"Do you treasure Madoka."

"O-of course! What's with these weird questions?"

"Then, it is agreed. We are both on the same side."

Sayaka tried the rope that held her to her chair. Sensing that she was going nowhere, she hung her head in disappointment.

"But, then why are you tying me up? If you really care about my friends and me, why am I here?"

Sayaka pleaded.

Suddenly, her eyes widened even more.

"Wait… you're going to do something to Madoka, aren't you?"

Silence.

"No, NO! I WON'T LET YOU, STOP."

Homura's hands slapped against Sayaka's face, her face now brimming with new tears.

"Shut up. You might have been a great friend in the past, but you have certainly become quite a nuisance. You'll catch on. In time."

Homura stood up abruptly, letting Sayaka's hair recoil back into her face. She walked briskly to the door, pausing briefly to look back at Sayaka.

"Once I have Mami here with you, I'll enlighten you both."

Homura grasped the doorknob with prudence, proceeding to shift into her magical uniform. A light flashed briefly as she felt the familiar shield around her wrist.

Sayaka stared at her, wondering if the amount of anime she had watched at home had suddenly broken her brain.

"Wha- what was that? Are you… Why are you cosplaying?"

Sayaka sat silent, confused and surprised, her fear now replaced with a questioning look.

Homura pulled out a Desert Eagle, Sayaka choking on a gasp in response.

"I'm sorry to leave you alone, but I have some hunting to do. After all, I'm going to have to need enough grief seeds, once Walpurgisnacht arrives."

Sayaka didn't quite catch on to what a "Walpurgisnacht" was, but all she knew is that Homura, and the gun she had just seemingly pulled out of thin air, had something to do with Madoka.

"No, YOU CAN'T! Please, don't hurt Madoka…"

Sayaka hung her head, the tears dripping onto the spotless floor.

Homura spoke once more.

"It is wonderful that you care about Madoka almost as much as I do."

Sayaka could only stare helplessly.

"Don't worry. I know what's best for her."

Homura turned back to the door.

"In the meantime, why don't you be a good little girl, and behave yourself?"

She smiled at the terrified girl, before disappearing instantaneously, leaving Miki Sayaka alone in the near-empty room.

Sayaka was shaking, terrified of what she had gotten herself in.

* * *

Kyosuke, for once, was more worried about something other than his own, obsolete body. He had first thought of it peculiar that Sayaka never showed up to his hospital room, but his pondering soon turned into shock, as soon as he turned on the TV later. Kyosuke watched with horrified fascination as Sayaka's face dominated the local headlines, with the news anchors ranting excitedly, solemnly informing viewers about Sayaka's sudden disappearence. Kyosuke could only grit his teeth more when Mr. and Mrs. Miki appeared on TV, sobbing as they recounted the hopeless progress made in search of their daughter.

Hitomi came by, an hour later and sadly confirmed Sayaka's abduction. She left quickly, after seeing Kyosuke's face saturated with distraught.

_What could have happened to her? _he thought. _Did she run away? Should I have been a better friend to her?_

_Did someone kidnap her?_

Kyosuke shivered at the thought, trembling with rage at the idea Sayaka could be tied up somewhere.

_Or maybe…_

No. The idea of Sayaka's disembodied corpse, lying somewhere in a ditch, was far too appalling.

Kyosuke sat in his bed breathing loud, ragged breaths, lost in thought to the point that he didn't hear the footsteps leading to the side of his bed.

"Greetings."

Kyosuke would've jumped out of bed if he could've jumped in the first place. He found himself clutching his bedsheets, staring at the empty eyes of a raven-haired girl.

_So, this is Kyosuke, _Homura thought._ The annoying boy that caused Sayaka and I so much trouble._

_Wha…how…where? _Kyosuke rambled in in his own mind, edging farther and farther away from his intruder.

"W-Who are you?"

"I am Homura Akemi."

"Homura…" Kyosuke suddenly recognized that name.

"Wait… aren't you that girl in the other corridor, the one with the glasses and the heart problems?"

It was now Homura's turn to narrow her eyes. "Yes…" she said, in a defensive voice.

"Sorry, sorry, I just didn't recognize you with your new… look."

Silence was the only thing that greeted him.

"But… I overheard recently from the nurses that you were discharged, right?"

"Correct."

"But…" Kyosuke stammered, "You look perfectly healthy. In fact, you look nothing like you used to, and if you're fine now, then why are you here?"

"I am here about your relationship with Sayaka Miki."

Kyosuke's surprised eyes could only widen even more.

"What? How did you know about her visits with me? You… you've only discharged only a few days, and you already know about us? Are there really that many rumors about us?"

Homura stared emotionlessly at Kyosuke.

"The reason how I know is that I had befriended Sayaka outside of school, right before her… …untimely disappearance. She wanted to give you this…"

Homura gently handed Kyosuke a small sheet of paper.

"Uhh… who's this."

"Sayaka was very concerned about you, so she told me how she spent the past few weeks desperately chronicling and researching for surgeons to help cure your… condition. She finally found one in America, who she believes has the expertise to cure your condition."

"Sayaka gave me this because she wanted to see if I, being a patient myself, found this doctor to be a suitable caretaker for you. She told me that she was going to call him herself, but never got to, due to her sudden absence."

Kyosuke's eyes ran down about the information on the sheet of paper. The slip of paper looked like nothing much; a phone number scribbled on in penmanship similar to that of Sayaka's, information on the doctor, and a brief description of the procedures they ran.

However, as Kyosuke read more and more, he began to realize just how perfectly this American facility was matched to take care of the aids of a person like him. Nerve repair. Muscle imprinting. Stem technology. He recalled his parents begging his doctor for any kind of treatment on that par, with the doctor shaking his head, stating that Japan has never invested into such modern treatments so early on.

Kyosuke turned towards Homura.

"How… how… did Sayaka find this? This facility… it's not even that famous, and the types of injuries it treats… is way too similar to mine. This should be a miracle find."

Homura recalled researching for hours in an early timeline, hoping that by curing Kyosuke, Sayaka wouldn't contract. By the time she found a valid doctor, however, Sayaka had already fallen.

Homura had then proceeded to shoot them both.

"Sayaka cares about you more than you realize. She told me about going to great lengths to find a cure for you, even going as far as using a translator to look for facilities in other countries."

Kyosuke grasped Homura's hand, crying as he looked down.

"Thank…thank you."

Homura remained all the more aloof.

"Don't thank me, thank Sayaka. She was the one who went through all of the trouble."

Kyosuke's eyes only squeezed tighter, as his feelings and regrets about Sayaka only intensified.

Homura left Kyosuke as a crying mess, walking out of the hospital without being seen. It was difficult, she had conceded, but she had finally found a way to cure Kyosuke. Sayaka no longer needed to make a wish.

An unnecessary endeavor, but critical to her success.

_After I reveal the truth, _Homura thought, _that will keep Sayaka from ever contracting again._

_In the meantime, I have to keep vigilant and keep that stupid rat away._

* * *

Madoka's hair bobbed as she walked glumly through the shining mall. Normally, she would make her rounds with Sayaka, as the two would usually prance around, admiring dresses, judging shoes, and nitpicking clothes. Madoka also felt lonely without Hitomi, who usually trailed her and Sayaka, peppering their delectable conversations with her own royal remarks.

Today, she was alone.

Madoka sighed. Normally, she wouldn't have even considered the mere idea of traversing the public, alone and unsupervised. However, a mysterious force, fate, destiny, perhaps, had compelled her to come. Something, perhaps even someone, had subconsciously planted a seed of thought, a nagging feeling that _somehow,_ anyhow, Madoka was supposed to be at the mall.

This same nagging feeling had risen inside of her, the first time she saw Homura, and now blared, uncontrolled, within her head.

Madoka, as much as she tried not to, kept on flicking her gaze around her, grasping at any attempt to see Sayaka.

…

But nobody came.

Madoka's footsteps were drowned out by the chatter of shoppers around her, as she strolled around aimlessly, pondering why she was here in the first place.

Suddenly, a voice cried out in her head:

"Madoka!"

Madoka's head jerked up. Albeit mostly unnoticed, Madoka felt a slight tinge of heat rushing up to her face as soon as she realized that she had earned more than her fair share of glares.

_Did-did someone just speak in my mind?_

"Madoka!" the voice responded. "Madoka, help me! Please! I'm h-"

Almost instantly, the voice vanished. Madoka waited patiently, a minute, 2, 3, 10.

But the voice inside her head had disappeared.

Madoka, rubbing her eyes, went home to get some sleep.

* * *

Homura held Kyubey tightly around his neck, watching as the animal tried to writhe out of her grasp.

"Kyubey. You know very well that I have killed you once before. Why didn't you listen to my warning back then?"

Kyubey blinked his eyes quickly, before answering swiftly in return.

"I know, and it's such a waste of a body. However, I do not believe that you understand Madoka's pote-"

Homura choked Kyubey all the more, with the latter now gasping for breath.

"I know killing you won't stop you. Apparently, as logical as you are, you can't take a warning, can you?"

Kyubey only waited for her response.

Homura continued, "So… I've decided, I'm not going to kill you. I don't want to waste your… bodies and I don't want to waste my ammo. So, I'm going to imprison you, once and for all."

On the emphasis of the final word, Homura slammed Kyubey into a miniature iron cage, with Kyubey glaring out in interest.

"This time, you can't escape. Those bars are enchanted with my own magic, so no teleporting. You can't summon in any replacements or clones, as you haven't died yet. My calculations suggest that no other incubator is coming to Mitakihara city for quite some time. There is no way out."

Kyubey blinked.

"This is so illogica-"

Homura had stuffed Kyubey's cage into her shield, his voice immediately disappearing.

She stood up, glaring around, only stopping her gaze as she heard a *clink*, turning her head only to be greeted with an image of Mami, staring back with widened eyes, gaped mouth, and a musket trembling in her hands.

* * *

"What… What did you do with Kyubey?!"

Homura only stared on passively into Mami's golden eyes, noticing Gertrud's grief seed clutched tightly within Mami's hands.

"Listen… I don't know what your business is with Kyubey, but he is a dear friend to me," Mami cried out.

"Give, Him, BACK!"

The two girls stood imposingly against each other. The dim light cast slender shadows of their figures against the dulled floor. They stood, surrounded by machinery and raw building material that the mall has yet to make use of. No one was watching.

Mami's eyes only narrowed when Homura drew a Desert Eagle, as black as her hair, out of her shield.

Mami readied her flintlocks, preparing her trump card, in preparation for the worst-case scenario.

Both stood motionless.

Mami's head was saturated in sweat. At any moment, a massive gunfight would arise. She had no idea what the other girl was capable of, and if their battle would be noticed by others, that would spell trouble. If the gunshots won't draw attention, then her Tiro Finale would.

She anxiously waited for Homura's first move.

…

Suddenly, Homura did the last thing Mami expected; she turned around and ran. Mami, feeling a sudden sense of euphoria, now knowing that her opponent was too scared to fight her one-on-one, only proceeded to chase after her.

"Return here, with Kyubey, right now!" she shouted.

A set of rifles materialized before her; golden bullets built of threads streaked towards the mysterious girl's legs. As soon as they neared, however, the raven-haired girl disappeared, only to appear a few feet on the left.

Mami's eyes narrowed, as she repeated firing, only for the girl to dodge again like lightning.

_If she could dodge that fast, then why hasn't she outrun me yet? _Mami wondered as Homura led her deeper and deeper into the catacombs of the mall.

…

_Wait…_

_Could it be a trap?_

As soon as this idea came into her head, the girl ahead of her disappeared. Mami was left alone, at a dead-end of a hallway, with nowhere else to go.

Mami spun around, trying to catch a glimpse of Kyubey's kidnapper.

Suddenly, 20 canisters of sleeping gas materialized out of thin air, clanking on the ground as their contents spilled outwards. Mami immediately fell to the ground, clutching her nose, even though she knew it was too late. Her breath rapidly grew faint, her head dizzy and heavy, as she tried to outrun the gas, trapped in a narrow, unventilated hallway. She tripped, sprawling across the ground, her rifles useless. Mami could only stare as the mysterious girl appeared, a gas mask intact on her face, placing her in a shield as she was enveloped by complete darkness.

* * *

Homura sighed.

It was done.

In an hour, she was to kill the box witch that was supposed to kill Hitomi. In a week, she had to kill Nagisa, who was to become the witch that was to destroy Mami.

Homura flicked her hair. A busy month indeed.

* * *

Sayaka's tears boiled down furiously over her face, as she dangled helplessly by the chair that she was imprisoned in. She could not but help worry over poor Madoka, envisioning her trapped in a sloshy, rough alley, between a worn brick wall and Homura's pistol. Every so often, Sayaka tried to break free, desperately hoping that her effort would be enough to revolt against her shackles. However, experience proved to be the cruelest teacher, as Sayaka quickly resigned herself to her fate, her head bowed down, sniffles escaping her hollowed lungs. _How long has it been? _She thought. _Minutes, hours?_

_Days?_

No matter how much time passed, the room remained the same; the blinding white light and repetitious pendulum kept on persisting. Time after time, an echoing *click* echoed through the room, Sayaka's only indicator of the passing day.

Sayaka wanted to shatter that pendulum _so bad_.

She kept still in her chair, aimlessly mumbling for help, when suddenly she heard the terrifying *creak* from the front door, turning her head to meet the sight of Homura's legs cascading shadows in the faint twilight sky.

"W-What…what d-did you d-do to Ma-do-doka?" she stammered in desperation.

Homura sighed, glaring at Sayaka in an unusual expression, an amalgamation of disgust and amusement.

"You really are an adorable idiot Sayaka. NO ONE care more about Madoka more than I," she shouted, a burning fire of determination lingering in her eyes.

Sayaka recoiled, out of pure shock and fear.

Homura glanced at here wristwatch. "Huh… …it's the 25th already. You've already been here for 8 days. Congratulations."

Sayaka winced with worry.

Homura flicked her hair, disappearing almost instantly, only for Sayaka to spot her a few feet away, next to a suddenly materialized chair.

With a girl in it.

Sayaka stared in twisted fascination at the twin-drilled blonde, her chest lightly heaving and her mouth taking short puffs. A single glance to her face indicated that Homura had knocked her out as well.

However, the moment Sayaka saw her face… She felt as if…

She knew this girl before.

Sayaka could tell, from the uniform, that they went to the same school, perhaps even bumping and conversing once or twice in the past. However, as much as Sayaka tried to ignore that idea, she felt as if the girl in front of her had felt like a long-term mentor, an aspiration of everything she had tried to be.

"What…what did you do?"

Homura performed her iconic hair flip, the shadows echoing throughout the room.

"That is not any of your concern. In the meantime…" Homura said, suddenly materializing a Beretta out of thin air.

Sayaka shot back, desperately pushing herself as far away from Homura has her restraints allowed her.

"No… NO! Please, don't…"

"Don't worry, Sayaka. Nothing bad has happened… …yet," Homura stressed.

"Now, I'm going to untie you, and you are going to walk to the corridor on your left and enter the 3rd room, where the bathroom is."

"What are you-"

"You will find a toilet, a bath, toiletries, shampoo, oral care equipment, towels, and a fresh new change of clothes that I stole from your house."

"What, why are you doing this?"

Homura gave a twisted smile.

"Because," she said mockingly, "it would be disrespectful of me not to properly treat my guests, wouldn't it?"

Sayaka winced as Homura started loosening the knots, Homura's fingers caressing and lacing over Sayaka's.

"Be warned that any attempt to escape will result in a hole in your leg. While I'm not insane enough to watch you in the bathroom, be warned that any attempt to break or escape from the bathroom will trigger pressure detectors that I had installed personally for you, Sayaka."

Sayaka gulped.

"It also turns out that these walls can fit in a lot of pipe bombs."

* * *

Sirens wailed as the Japanese police scrambled around in search of Sayaka Miki, with search parties hastily knocking on every door. While the night sky of Mitakihara city blazed with the howls of hounds and the screeching of tires, TVs all around Japan blared reports of a federal investigation by the Japanese government, concerning missing RPGs and mortars from nearby JSDF bases. Stories leaked that the FBI was also conducting its own ferocious interrogation of the country, clearly upset that an entire battleship was stolen under their nose during a set of training exercises with the Japanese military.

Homura sat unconcerned, her fight hand fumbling with the TV remote, her left hand rewiring the detonator of a remote bomb.

Sayaka sat, shackled to her original spot, smelling slightly better yet just as unnerved, watching Homura assemble explosives quietly before her eyes.

Mami still slumped in her previous position, snoring away.

"What… why are you making bombs?" Sayaka asked, her timid voice almost disappearing under the TV broadcast of her own disappearance.

Homura dropped the wires and picked up her Beretta, aiming directly at Sayaka's face.

"I need more firepower."

Sayaka's fears lessened when Homura put away her gun and bombs, only to stare terrified when Homura materialized and started loading an entire stolen legion of RPGs.

* * *

Mami woke.

When she opened her eyes, she as greeted with a blinding flash of white light. The air tasted faint on her lips… metal, with a singe of grapes?

"Urgh, my head…"

She tried to rub her eyes, only to find her arms encased in chains. She tried to summon a rifle to blast herself out of ensnarement, only to find that her soul gem wasn't on her.

Mami's eyes started to frantically flicker around the room, searching desperately for her soul gem, only to spot the familiar golden glint of her magical reservoir in the hands of a girl sitting on a couch in front of her.

The girl that she was chasing.

Mami glanced to her left. Sitting a few feet away was a silent blue-haired girl, shackled as well. She looked incredibly familiar to Mami. Mami's mind jumped back to the memory of an orientation at school, where she had first seen the girl amongst hundreds of others, paying little regard at the time. Nonetheless, Mami could not shake off the feeling that she knew the mystery girl from somewhere else…

Turning away from her bout of Déjà vu, Mami glanced ferociously at the black-haired girl who was, at that point, toying with Mami's soul gem with acute interest.

"What do you think you're doing? Return that back! Now!"

The bluenette looked onwards, utterly confused by the sight before her.

The raven-haired girl remained stoic.

"We meet again, Mami."

"Wh-what?"

Mami tried to remember… but failed.

_Who is this person? Had-had I ever met them before? How does she know my name?_

"Whoever you are, you will release us at once," Mami yelled in her impressive, senior voice.

"If you don't want the police to-"

Mami was abruptly cut off when the girl pulled out a gun, pressing the barrel firmly next to Mami's head.

"Silence."

Mami blinked. Normally, she would be able to instantly combat this threat. However, without her soul gem…

The jet-black haired girl smiled, knowing this truth just as well as Mami.

The blinding light of the room stretched the shadow of Mami's confrontation across half of the entire room, the gun reflecting the light into a variety of shades.

"Where's Kyubey," Mami said, her voice on the brink of stuttering.

The girl in front of her smiled, pulling out a cage, with a white furball in it, toying with the cage, which glinted under the light. The shadow of Kyubey's figure spattered all over the floor, like a spectacular kaleidoscope.

"Finally, I'm out. I'm surprised by the number of weapons in your shield. You should organize- "

Kyubey was cut off by the gun Homura aimed at him.

"Oh. You're aiming it at me. Fine. I won't interrupt. I don't want you to kill me again and waste more bodies."

Mami's thoughts lingered on a certain word.

"Again?" she blurted.

Kyubey, now rolling around, pawing the floor through the bars in his cage, turned directly to Homura.

"Oh, would you look at what you did. Now she's curious."

"Kyubey, what do you mean?" Mami cried.

"I'm talking about-"

"Enough."

Every party in the room, especially the dumbfounded bluenette, turned towards the black-haired girl.

"The next person to speak out of line will be filled with lead. Now," the girl turned from Kyubey back towards Mami.

"Now, my apologies. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Akemi Homura."

* * *

The room was filled with blank silence.

Mami's breath paused for a second. The name sounded familiar, resting on the tip of her tongue.

"Kyubey has been lying to you."

The words cut through the air like a hot knife through butter. The shadows on Homura's face only thickened when she grimaced. _No need to dance around the point_.

"What? Why-" Mami exclaimed.

"Kyubey has been an excellent partner for years. He couldn't have-"

"Kyubey has been lying, or rather, omitting the truth from you ever since the day of that car crash."

Mami's face suddenly warped into one of disbelief. She glanced at Kyubey, her eyes shimmering with false hope and shock, before turning back towards Homura.

"Y-you know that much about me? How did you-"

"I'm a time traveler. You told me before, in the past."

Cynicism scattered across Mami's face.

"Surely, you must be jestin-"

"You've disguised your loneliness all your life. You constantly regret not using your wish save your parents, and for failing to save a boy from a witch years ago in a nearby park. You have a dentist appointment 9 days from now, you scored a 93% on your calculus test yesterday, and you've have a dream to become an idol star one day. Need I say more?"

Silence.

"I understand now," said Kyubey, peering in earnest from the bars of his cage, his eyes glaring dully at Homura.

"You are not from this timeline, are you? You go around, acting like you know what's going to happen, and you appear rather knowledgeable about your surroundings." Kyubey paused.

Seeing the lack of reaction from Homura, he continued.

"You were contracted, even though we never met. You appear and materialize weapons, along with seemingly teleporting, with absurd ease."

"The tenacity of humans truly amazes us."

Homura finally proceeded to brandish her pistol with a threatening gesture, but Kyubey's words were already enough to convince Mami what Homura said was right. However, a larger question loomed on the horizon of her thoughts.

"But… but… why do all of this?" Mami said, attempting to gesture at her chains with a wave of her head.

Homura sighed, bracing for a weary explanation.

"I only seek to defeat Walpurgisnacht, with as few casualties as possible."

"Walpur- what? Is that witch really coming to Mitakihara city?" Mami questioned.

A silent nod confirmed her fears.

Kyubey interjected once more.

"So… please confirm my suspicions, Ms. Akemi. You have fought Walpurgisnacht in the past, lost your friends before or during the battle, lost the battle itself, and proceeded to reset the timeline in order to try again?" Kyubey pondered, empty eyes matching Homura's own.

The safety on Homura's gun made a *click*.

"But… why am I tied up, along with this girl who's… uh…" Mami turned towards the other imprisoned girl.

"Sayaka," she responded, evidently confused by the blatantly bizarre conversation she was traversing through.

Homura clenched her fists.

"Magical girls turn into witches."

The statement had cut directly into Mami's skull.

She stared into Homura's face, honestly expecting a humorous response. Seeing none, she chuckled, a strange sound echoing through the serious and banal room.

"Homura, it's better not to joke around like-"

"It's true," Kyubey's voice stated, eyeing Homura with a cautioned look.

"Magical girls turn into witches. By using up the magic of your soul gem, which houses your very soul, or by falling into a depressive state, a Magical girl automatically converts into a witch, which in turns, grants us an infinite perpetual source of emotional energy, that allows us to combat entropy, subsequently sustaining the universe."

"Your souls keeps our world alive."

Mami stared incredulously at Kyubey, surprised by the unlikely support to Homura's outburst.

…

"You never asked, so I never told you."

"You are destined to become a witch, Mami."

The pendulum's shadow swam across the room.

"Wait… …what?" Mami asked.

Seeing no response, Mami screamed, "WHAT?"

Homura saw that any lasting form of sanity, worn down by years of isolation, loneliness, and stress, shattered under Mami's realization that the entire cause she was fighting for was a lie.

Mami sudden started thrashing against her bindings, trying to summon any form of magic that she could.

_If we ultimately turn into witches at the end of our lives_, Mami thought,_ the only thing left to do is…_

Homura watched, unfazed by Mami's sudden outburst.

"Mami. Stop struggling. Your soul gem is in my possession, so fighting is practically pointless."

"If-IF MAGICAL GIRLS TURN INTO WITCHES, THE ONLY THING THAT WE CAN DO IS-"

"die, both you… …and I," Homura finished in a monotone voice, reciting the line with a deprived sigh.

Mami's fit paused for a second, staring at Homura, flabbergasted.

"H-How did you know what I was going to say?" she said, in response to Mami's shocked face.

"You said that to me in a previous timeline. In fact, you almost killed me with those rifles of yours as well, so naturally, I had to tie you up this time."

"No… NO!" Mami screamed, attempting to lunge towards her soul gem, which was now tarnished with grief.

Homura calmly pulled a grief seed out of her shield, delicately pressing it against Mami's gem.

"It is fine for you to struggle and scream your frustrations out. However, please refrain from forcing me to waste my grief seeds."

Mami didn't care. The echoes of her screams echoed throughout the room, deafening over the clinking pendulum, echoing against the pictures on the walls. Sayaka only sat solemnly in her seat, terrified and confused of the chaotic environment around her.

Kyubey toiled around the floor of his cage emotionlessly, blinking at his surroundings.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The grey cannister blinked into existence, twirling with finality, entrapped within a labyrinth of color, surrealism, and absurdity. The witch could only glance at it for a minute second before the contraption incinerated itself, along with its surroundings, in a fantastical burst of flames.

The witch shrieked as it was torn apart, along with abstract art lining its barrier.

Homura pressed on, an FN Minimi pressed deep into her hands, shredding away at the fleeing familiars, cutting deep holes into the other side of the witch.

The grief seed fell delicately into Homura's hands.

She rolled the grief seed in her hand, her face as blank as ever, her eyes filled with weariness and death.

_Kyoko should show up in a couple of seconds_, she recited in her mind, bored as always. Everything has become a charade at this point; she knew the exact movements of all of the other girls: their routines, their words, and their reactions whenever Homura had acted or completed a task in a certain manner.

Sets of words, lines of dialogue, events, predictions, she has seen it all. She had even transferred into school an entire week ahead of schedule, a desperate attempt to delay the week of boredom and inactivity. _Everyone has become so predictable, so understandable, to the point where, once you know them, that's it. That's all they'll ever be,_ Homura thought.

_The world has never looked grayer._

She stood alone, in a tight alleyway. A slight rain began, and a small wisp of mist filled the corridor. Sets of carefully handcrafted arches and walls surrounded her, comprising most of the superstructures of the buildings around her.

Homura's watch read April 5, 10 days after Mami's "arrival" at Homura's house. Everything was progressing at a steady pace.

"Ay!" a voice echoed behind her.

Homura didn't turn around, knowing exactly who was standing a few feet away. She kept on gazing, feigning interest at the grief seed.

"Hey! Did you hear me?!" Kyoko shouted.

Judging from the slight muffle in her tone, Homura deduced that Kyoko was snacking again.

Seeing no response from the mysterious girl before her, Kyoko decided, out of frustration, to continue.

"HEY! Look at me when I'm talking to you! What the hell are you thinking, deciding to sneak into my territory and farm my witches! Are you insane?"

Homura turned around, her voice organized in a monotone and forceful manner.

"Indeed, I am. What's your point?"

Kyoko was about to snap back, perhaps a snarky reply and a beatdown for her right to that grief seed, before catching a glimpse at the mystery girl's face.

Kyoko suddenly instinctively raised her hand, a wave of unexpectable nostalgia enveloping her head. She couldn't help but feel that she had known this girl, however stupid she was for invading her city, throughout her whole life.

However, what truly unnerved her was the look in the black-haired girl's face.

_Those eyes…_

Kyoko saw those eyes before when her family collapsed. They belonged to her father.

There was something _twisted_ about this girl.

Kyoko's breath caught up in her lungs. Her legs shook from the coldness, from the complete and utter _wrongness_ that the girl projected.

She shook her head, waiting a solid 3 minutes to muster up the courage, before continuing.

"H-Heh… that l-look in ya eyes…"

Homura stared at her, a dead expression on her face.

"Y-you're empty inside, aren't ya? Whya hunting alone? Are ya some renegade on the streets without a family?"

Kyoko paused, taking a look closer at her face.

"Hey, why do you look so bored. It's almost as if you've been confronted by me before. We've met before, h-haven't we?"

It was Homura's turn to look surprised. Kyoko saw the terrifying presence in Homura's face disappear for a split second, only to return in a moment's notice.

"Wow. Looks like I'm right," Kyoko snapped, a gentle relief that the girl before her wasn't a machine.

"Welp, I don't remember. I don't care if you erased my memory, or somethin' crazy like that. So… who are ya, and whatchu doin' in my city?"

The mysterious girl waited for a response, before flinging the grief seed towards Kyoko who caught it in a moment's notice. She stared at the girl, confused by how easy it was to verbally wrest the grief seed out of the girl's possession.

"My name is Akemi Homura," the girl said, staring at Kyoko with a cruel look.

Homura flicked her hair, before turning around, strolling away into the night.

"Heya! Ya haven't told me why ya came to my city yet!" Kyoko pandered afterward, brandishing her spear like a police officer.

"I wanted to send… a message," Homura densely replied, standing still for a second, gazing away from Kyoko.

"What? The hell ya talkin' about?" Kyoko said, confused.

"Kyoko, recently Mami has been… …incapacitated in Mitakihara. Considering your experience with Mami in your competition of ownership of her territory, I'm requesting you come to Mitakihara to take on her witch-hunting grounds."

"Mami? Incapacitated? Bwahaha-" Kyoko chortled, laughing at the notion of Mami unconscious, although a bit worried about Mami's wellbeing.

"How come I know ya not lyin'?" she questioned, stifling laughter of the irony of her situation; herself, the student, surpassing her own master.

"You don't," Homura said. "It's better for you to come and see."

With that final world, Homura disappeared, leaving Kyoko alone in the empty walkway, the drizzling rain pouring delicately over the arches overhead, beads of water lingering down the walls of the narrow alleyway.

Kyoko stood alone, surrounded by puddles, a hundred reflections of her image, casting her confounded expression back towards her.

* * *

Madoka clicked open her door. The clock in her room tinkled that it was April 6, 7:29 PM. Sighing, she crawled into a ball, tears rolling down her face. Madoka could hear the TV blaring downstairs, muffled throughout the wooden walls of her house, announcing the reality of the situation.

Sayaka was now legally presumed dead.

Madoka remembered Hitomi's broken expression beforehand, most noticeably the worn eyes, the red-tipped nose, and the quivering mouth. She kept on mumbling nervously about Kyosuke and his plans to travel for 2 months to treat his illness, whilst expressing her grievances about not being a better friend to Sayaka.

It seemed as if Kyosuke was wracked with grief as well.

Madoka stared lifelessly towards the ceiling. Small beads of tears started forming at the edge of her eyes.

_How could this happen?_

_A few weeks ago, everything seemed perfect. We were all here, laughing, having a great time._

_But now…_

_…_

_Sayaka._

_Where are you?_

* * *

The flock of birds stood at a standstill over the lake. A man stood motionless at a drinking fountain, water floating midair.

Homura glanced by in disinterest as she navigated through the JDSF base.

_Security has been upgraded, _Homura thought. More men were parading with machine guns, more surveillance, more traps, and barriers.

All that has done for Homura was put more weapons out in the opening for her to take.

Quickly wrestling a Howa briefly from an immobile security guard, wary of unfreezing him in time, Homura proceeded to enter the warehouse, eyeing the stockpile of explosives with exuberant greed.

The shield absorbed them all with a simple *click*.

Homura than made her rounds to the other side of the room, where another stockpile, along with exported American weaponry, waited for glorious combat.

Homura stared.

* * *

Sayaka Miki was utterly confused. _Witches? Soul Gems? Kyubey? What?_ These questions entered her head ever since her conversation with Mami 11 days ago, from what Homura said. She looked briefly to the right, where that "Mami" person was bawling quietly, the object that Homura had called a "Soul Gem" standing on a table Homura had placed before them, growing darker and darker by the hour.

It honestly felt like an eternity has passed, with Sayaka finding nothing interesting, other than the strange things that Mami choked in her tears.

"Hello, Miki Sayaka."

Sayaka suddenly jolted. She looked at Mami but still found her mumbling indiscernible words, in a quiet, pathetic tone.

The only person who could have said that was…

Sayaka stared at that "Kyubey" thing out of confusion and interest.

Kyubey stared back with the latter.

"Uhh, hello," Sayaka said back, aloud.

Mami's head jerked up, glancing out at the sudden interruption, before realizing that Sayaka was conversing with Kyubey. Mami's head then fell, more and more tears wallowing her in her grief.

"There is no need for us to communicate out loud," Kyubey responded, telepathically.

"I prefer speaking in private. Just envision your words in your mind and communicate with telepathy."

"Oh… okay." Sayaka thought, intrigued by the notion of a mental conversation.

"I apologize for staying silent for nearly 2 weeks. I thought that it would best for you to digest the thoughts you have so far, in order not to overwhelm you with facts. So, by now, I am assuming that you are confused due to a lack of information, correct?"

Sayaka nodded slowly, noticing Mami staring at Kyubey as well, anguished betrayal in her eyes.

"I am Kyubey, a being who has interacted with humans for quite a while. My purpose is to convert girls like you into Magical Girls, granting you with magnificent magical powers and properties. I will also grant you a wish; any wish that you desire."

"Really?" Sayaka stammered, gazing upon Kyubey with enthusiastic interest.

"Yes. However, please be well informed, in exchange for your wish and powers, your soul gem is created, which holds your magical power and abilities. You will also be tasked with the onerous responsibility of defeating and controlling witches, magical beings who prolong themselves out of malice and suffering. Mami here has even been a Magical Girl for several years and is what we consider a senior. She can-"

"WHY, KYUBEY?" Mami screamed.

"What-what the hell did you do to me?"

Sayaka stared at Mami for a second. When she first saw Mami, she had thought that Mami seemed, to her at least, as someone respectable, calm, and orderly.

Whatever information that was revealed between Homura and Kyubey must have broken her down to the bone.

"I didn't do anything detrimental to you. I simply granted your wish, removed your soul, encased it into a soul gem, and granted you your specific powers."

"My soul gem is…"

"Your soul, correct. Your soul gem is actually you. This system functions at peak optimal rates for both you and I, as your soul gems are must easier to protect than your bodies."

Mami stared.

"Then… are you a zombie?" Sayaka asked, finally understanding the situation around her, seemingly surprised by the notion of magic, if only she hadn't seen Homura use it before.

Mami started bawling again.

"Sorry, not helping," Sayaka mumbled quietly to herself.

The room was quiet, except for Mami's continuous tantrum.

"So…" Sayaka started.

"What are witches, and what's with the Magical Girl system?"

"Ah, yes," Kyubey responded.

"I grant you a wish, and your soul gem is created. Your soul is projected from your gem into your body, allowing you to function as a human being. Ergo, when you contract with me, you are granted with a wish, magical powers, and a capsule for you to protect yourself. However, because of the universe's laws that equate that every force must have an opposingly equal opposite force, your soul gem fills up with grief over time to compensate for the joy and powers you are bestowed with, whether from the utilization of magic or despair."

"Such grief can only be properly dispelled by a grief seed, obtained from witches. However, destiny will most likely prevail, and most magical girls find themselves in a situation where their soul gem is fully corrupted."

"As such, they turn into a witch."

"A witch is a malevolent magical being, born from the remains of a Magical Girl. We collect the energy from the transformation of witches so we can sustain the energy consumption of the universe. Witches, afterward, are of no major use to us. They feed on the despair of others, usually killing human beings either by direct murder or controlled suicide. As such, Magical Girls are motivated by ethics to destroy them, thus sustaining a cycle."

Kyubey stared at Sayaka with those pink, blinding eyes.

"Capiche?"

Sayaka felt obligated to say no, to say that everything she just heard was way over her head. However, when Kyubey was talking, Sayaka found herself listening to that story with utter boredom.

As if she has heard it a couple of millions of times already.

…

_Could that be from the time-traveling that Homura has been doing?_ Sayaka wondered.

Kyubey, sensing Sayaka's quietness as confirmation, continued.

"However, I am most interested in Homura who, according to my list of suitable candidates a couple of weeks ago, seemed like a very timid and shy girl. However, her rapid emotional transformation, something that I had deduced with great difficulty, was most likely due to emotional and mental suffering she has experienced in the past, if what she said about time travel was valid."

"The most likely root cause of this change is death."

"Death?" Sayaka raised her head.

"Correct."

Kyubey's eyes surveyed both Sayaka and Mami.

"To be specific, your deaths."

Sayaka and Mami looked at Kyubey with horrified eyes.

"Considering the lengths that Homura is going to in an attempt alert and save both of you and Madoka from becoming a witch, a motive I have derived from her actions and words, I calculate that you have all died at least a multitude of times in Homura's previous timelines, with her taking the burden of emotional trauma."

"This confirms three things."

Kyubey stared at the broken face of Mami.

"One. You, Mami, are destined to die. Whether it is due to an injury to your soul gem or the transformation into a witch doesn't matter. All you can know is that there is a high probability that you will die soon."

Mami shook her head, her insane eyes matching Kyubey's own.

"If I die from my soul gem breaking, that's a good thing, isn't it?" she said, an insane laugh escaping her mouth.

"Considering your current mental state, it is also plausible that you have killed Sayaka Miki and or Madoka Kaname in another timeline, forcing Homura to reset as well."

Mami's eyes widened further.

"Me-me? Kill…these… innocent girls? I-i-impossible!" Mami screamed.

"If they were to meet certain conditions," Kyubey said, "such as contracting, I believe the probability is quite high."

Any last shred of her sanity disappeared.

_I am a monster, _Mami thought.

_I am a zombie, and when I lived up my usefulness, I will turn into a monster._

_I wasted my selfish wish, I have been lonely throughout my entire life, and I will only end up harming others._

_I am going to turn into a witch, the very thing that I had sworn to destroy._

_The only way I can salvage the situation is through the death of every Magical Girl._

_We all have to die._

Kyubey, sensing the rapidly growing darkness within Mami's soul gem, stared back at Mami.

"I want to thank you, Mami. The despair that has been created from this revelation has put you well on the path to becoming a witch, Mami. Your death will help prolong the life of the universe."

"By my calculations, you will turn into a witch and kill everyone in this residence in approximately 13 minutes."

Mami looked at her soul gem, and then at Sayaka, who glanced back into terror.

_In thirteen minutes, I'm going to be forced to kill this girl._

Mami steeled herself, trying to bring any form of positivity to her mind, any last strand of happiness to prevent her transformation.

To no avail.

"Moving onto my second point," Kyubey said, glancing at Mami's rapidly deteriorating soul gem before peering at Sayaka through his cage.

"Considering Homura's intervention with you, it is discernably inevitable that you will die as well, most likely after a contract with me. If you somehow miraculously escape Mami's witch in a few minutes, you will most likely be forced to contract soon with me. You will then meet the same potential set of fates that she will."

Sayaka's trembling shadow scattered across the room. The pendulum was drowned by Mami's sniffling, the pictures cascading across the wall slowly moving faster and faster.

"No! I won't contract with you…"

"No? Not even to save the boy that you have been wanting to be with?"

"Kyosuke," Sayaka stammered.

…

"I believe this is checkmate, Miss Miki."

Sayaka looked down, terrified by her fate.

"Now, to my third and final point."

"Taking into consideration how Homura's concern for Madoka, Madoka's karmic potential, and the danger she poses as a future witch, I believe that Madoka has died in every timeline that Homura has been through."

"Madoka's death is truly inevitable."

Sayaka and Mami both looked on helplessly, their tears dripping silently onto the floor. The room was nearly silent, the bright aesthetic walls colored with death. The air hung with the smell of pain.

"This is all irrelevant anyway since Mami will destroy everything as a witch in 4 minutes."

Sayaka's sky blue eyes pleaded with Mami's golden ones, but there was nothing to be done. Both of them sat slumped in their chairs, leaning over their restraints, crying and waiting their destiny.

"Now, Sayaka, you have the chance of prolonging both your own life and Mami's if you make a wish right now. You can also choose to save Kyosuke right before you die. So, what will it be? Will you contra-"

"GO TO HELL!"

Sayaka stared at Mami, impressed. The senior fumed at Kyubey with completely unrelenting rage, furious at his attempt to assimilate Sayaka.

"Sayaka, whatever you do, DO NOT CONTRACT. You'll… you'll…" Mami sobbed.

"You'll end up like me. Don't do this to yourself. Don't sacrifice yourself. You still have a choice. I can try to hold on. I believe that your friends can take care of Kyosuke, whoever that is. Whatever you do, Sayaka, don't submit to him!" she said, tears and anger seething through her face.

Kyubey stared.

"Curious. Human emotions truly are quite surprising. Well, the thing is that you don't really have a say in the matter."

He turned to Sayaka.

"And you?"

"Go to hell," she said, her tone as icy as she could muster.

"How illogical. Disappointing."

Kyubey twirled around in his cage.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with my consolation prize of Mami's grief seed," Kyubey said, with an aloof look in his face.

"Goodbye."

Both Mami and Sayaka jammed their eyes closed, afraid to see what will happen. Tears burned down both of their faces, as they waited for their death.

Mami stifled a scream as her impurities consumed her.

The blinding white room dimmed rapidly, as dark clouds of energy emerged from her grief seed. The pictures on Homura's wall flickered rapidly, some blinking out of existence. Everything, the sofa, the chair, the pendulum, shined either in black or white, the room screaming as if a jet engine was taking off from a runway. It seemed as if a lightning storm has suddenly appeared, bolts of pure energy crashing everywhere. Waves of despair radiated to every corner of the room, forcing the already present hopelessness in Sayaka to only grow. A hurricane of despair and energy emerged, with the eye surrounding Mami's soon-to-be grief seed.

Homura wasn't coming.

Madoka wasn't coming.

Kyubey won.

_In twenty seconds, my soul gem will crack._

_I become a monster._

_This is it._

_This is the end._

*click*

Silence.

…

…

…

Mami peeked outwards with her eyes. The magical surge of energy was gone. The transformation was halted. Destiny has been delayed. Altered. Adverted.

Homura stood in the center of the room with a fully absorbed grief seed pressed firmly against Mami's brilliant soul gem. She tossed it next to Kyubey's cage, who danced around, a hole appearing in his back to absorb the exploited seed. His eyes were as empty as always, but Mami could tell a little shred of disappointment lingered there.

Homura stood still, gazing at Sayaka and Mami with her **cold**,** dead **eyes.

They won't die. Not today.

Sayaka opened her mouth.

…

…

…

"Wow, I guess we can always count on you for a warm welcome."

* * *

"So, Sayaka Miki, you finally understand."

Sayaka nodded, before casting a curious glance.

"You overheard our talk?" she said, a little exasperated whine in her voice.

Homura flicked her hair.

"Kyubey's voice is obnoxious to the point where he cannot be ignored."

Kyubey just blinked.

"Now, Sayaka, now that you know the truth, do you want to contract with Kyubey?" Homura asked, turning back towards Sayaka.

"I honestly have mixed feelings about being randomly kidnapped just to have something explained to me, but from what I've heard, hell no," she said, staring defiantly against the incubator.

_After everything he's done to Mami, tearing out her soul, turning her into a zombie? Forcing her to become a monster at the end of her life?_

_No way._

_Thank god that I learned that before I contracted, haha… If I didn't, I probably just would've wished for Kyosuke right then and there!_

_…_

_So… this was what Homura was trying to save me from?_

_…_

_I understand that she wants to help me, but did she really have to kidnap me to make this point?_

Homura sighed as she crashed onto the couch, sighing in relief. Sayaka could have sworn she saw a spark of life that emerged from the **darkness** buried in her eyes.

"Thank you, Sayaka."

Sayaka closed her eyes. The idea that she was torn away from her home for such a silly reason hurt her head.

"Hehe, sure, no sweat."

"My apologies. It's just… after countless years of accepting Kyubey's deal throughout a multitude of timelines, it's satisfying to finally prevent your contract."

Sayaka's smile faltered.

"Why are you this desperate to prevent me from contracting?" she asked.

"Sorry, it's just that you turn into a witch."

"Me?!" Sayaka exclaimed, strangely feeling a bit unsurprised.

"Yes. As you can imagine, turning into a monster caused both a lot of problems for myself and broke down morale for all of your friends."

"Well, that won't happen, will it?"

"As long as you don't contract, Sayaka. You won't die."

…

"So does that I can leave?"

…

…

"No."

* * *

The rain moved somewhere else, but Madoka felt the coldness linger in the air. Everything she looked at appeared frigid to her.

Without Sayaka, everything felt pointless. School became as mundane as ever. Everyone still obsessed over Homura, who kept on giving Madoka peculiar glances. The room was filled with the same dulled twilight that enveloped the classroom, embellishing the aesthetic and modern decor. However, without Sayaka constantly running up to her, the world slowly began to look grey.

Hitomi tried her best to comfort Madoka. She could tell that Hitomi was slightly a bit more optimistic of Kyusuke's recent trip to America, but was desperately worried, nonetheless.

The earth still kept on rotating; the sun kept on shining; the last grasps of winter giving way to spring.

It was as if the entire world still functioned perfectly without Sayaka.

And Madoka was secretly terrified that she had started to accept that.

* * *

_**Clang**_

The tip of Kyoko's spear bounced off of the floor, the grief seed following suit. The bizarre and fantastical world disappeared around her, reality keen on reclaiming its dominance. Twilight and fading light shown throughout the thin cracks of the alleyway, gently enveloping the arches and pillars surrounding Kyoko, bathing everything in a warm light.

Yet, she could still feel an impending coldness surround her.

Kyoko huffed. She grasped her spear, leveling herself back into a standing position. Her hand hovered the wound over her arm, magic pouring into the injury. Her anguished breaths gave way to her mischievous smile, proud of another grief seed.

Kyoko's journey to Mitakihara greeted her with some peculiar sights. The first hit her when she journeyed near the hospital, where she 2 people taking a walk chatting about hearing a crying girl scream to deceased mother something about cheesecake. Kyoko spat out her Pocky and bit into another one.

_Suck it up, kid. In this world, it's kill or be killed. _

_Honestly, what an idiot._

Kyoko barely had to time to ponder her past before the notion hit her.

She hasn't seen Kyubey for weeks.

The used-up grief seeds stacked on top of each other, ready to spawn another witch. Kyoko had gone everywhere around Kazamino, glancing around for the elusive creature. She honestly hoped that, by coming to Mitakihara, she would be able to get rid of those cursed things.

_Unfortunately, that was not the case._

The second thing hit her, quite literally, the moment she neared the city's center. A barrier immediately enveloped her, with the witch slamming a long chain into her side, amounting to searing pain. After she finished disintegrating it, another one appeared. And another. And another.

_What the hell? Where are all these witches coming from?_

Kyoko fought 20 witches after eating her stolen lunch, even though it was only 3:26 PM, according to the clock tower she'd just passed.

_There's-there's way to many witches for this to be normal. I knew that Mami's city had a lotta witches, but this is just ridiculous. What could be bringing them all here?_

_I have some suspicions, but hey! That would be too stupid!_

_No way Walpurgisnacht would come here! Heh heh …_

_…_

_Right?_

Kyoko's smile was saturated in cockiness, but something nagged in the back of her head. She stared at the horizon, where the sun was setting in the clear sky. However, as much as Kyoko stared, she could have sworn that she saw a couple of dark clouds forming on the horizon.

_Something's coming._

_Something big._

* * *

"So… Homura," Sayaka said, a fake sweet smile lingering on her face.

"When can I go home?"

Homura looked up. She was just finishing purifying Mami's soul gem with a grief seed, with Mami looking a bit worn herself. Her once drilled hair now dangled down, just like Homura's. Mami stopped crying, but Homura could still see a hopeless look lingering in her eyes. More than once, Mami had tried to escape and destroy her soul gem, with Homura being forced to tighten her restraints and keep her company until Mami calmed down. Homura even had to steal an IV and forcibly hook it up to Mami when she stopped eating, a wasted attempt to kill herself.

If she wanted to save Mami this time, she had to take things slowly.

"No, Sayaka."

Sayaka's face suddenly morphed into a downtrodden look.

"But…but… why? It's been…"

"Three days," Homura interjected.

"-since I realized about the dangers of becoming a Magical Girl. There's no real reason to keep me here, right?"

"I have to make sure that you'll not contract."

"But… but… Homura, come one! Please… You really don't have to kidnap me to make such a straightford point!"

Homura poked Mami's mouth with a cup of home-brewed tea, sipping it with reluctance. Homura gave her an encouraging smile. _Maybe Mami could be saved after all_.

She turned back to Sayaka.

"Fine. I'll offer you a deal. If you stay quiet and don't cause any troubles for the next 2 days, I'll let you go."

Sayaka's face lightened immediately.

"Really?" she exclaimed, her once fading enthusiasm returning rapidly to her voice.

"Don't make me regret this," Homura mumbled, eyes still on Sayaka.

Sayaka smiled her cheerful expression, completely genuine this time.

Now that she realized Homura wasn't an enemy, Sayaka found her to be a lot more likable. Over the past few days, Sayaka found herself conversing casually with her, all her fear of Homura disappearing over time.

_Maybe we were even friends in one of her past timelines_, Sayaka thought.

She noticed Kyubey staring directly at her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The bag firmly covered Sayaka's face as Homura walked her along the street. A Desert Eagle was pressed firmly next to her head. The safety was on.

A slight fog had covered the ground. The streets were filled with mist, no cameras were watching. Of course, Homura knew that the fog was going to come. Needless, she walked Sayaka carefully back towards her house, following a path which she knew was discreet to public eyes.

"Homura, I've already agreed that I won't become a Magical Girl, and I already know that I'll become a monster if I do. Is this necessary?" Sayaka quietly whined.

Homura clicked her gun, a sharp echo sloshed through the hallway. The ground pattered with dew. By this time, everyone was asleep. However, she was as paranoid as ever.

"Quiet. Yes, this is necessary, for security's sake, of course," Homura whispered to Sayaka, her voice vanishing into the silence.

The two walked quietly, Homura's left hand guiding the blinded Sayaka down the corridors, their shoes clattering delicately across the cobblestone floor. Their shadows quickly vanished into the mist, their breathing faint, their visage untraceable.

Homura stopped, sending Sayaka into a small lurch.

"Geez… you could've at least warned me, could you?"

Homura said nothing, only pulling off Sayaka's blindfold, shoving it, and the pistol, back into her shield. Her arms slowly gestured down the street.

"Your house is 2 blocks down east. I know you well enough to know that you can get yourself home from here."

The two stood imposingly, facing each other.

"How do I know that I can trust you," Sayaka said a bit cautiously.

Homura flicked her hair. _Here we go again_.

"I prevented you from becoming a Magical Girl by kidnapping you and forcing you to embrace the truth. What else could I have done to change your mind?"

Sayaka's feet cast a wavering image in the fog. The street glowed in blue, cold light.

"That's fair, I guess…"

Silence.

"Don't tell anyone. If you do…"

…

"I'll kill you."

"Wow. Thanks."

Sayaka stood still, a quiver of fear flashing before her eyes. However, it quickly vanished as Sayaka pulled herself into a mock salute, before dashing off into the fog. The drops of water pattered off of her skin, condensation of the moisture in the air.

A small smile, a remnant of her past, awoke in Homura as she observed Sayaka running home.

* * *

Mr. and Mrs. Miki had, for all, given upon life. After returning from their orientation, they had planned to celebrate the unusually upbeat reviews that Sayaka's teachers had given her, only to find her missing, with evidence of a scuffle at the front door. A few tables and chairs were knocked about, the carpet flattened in certain areas, a vase broken. The front door was left wide open, with some of Sayaka's shoes missing, along with a small portion of her clothes and belongings.

The Japanese forensics team had quickly analyzed the scene, finding small traces of chloroform residue imbued into the carpet.

Mr. and Mrs. Miki's worst fears have been confirmed.

_But why?_

_Why our daughter? Out of everyone?_

The answer never came to them. No fingerprints were left behind. The forensics team gave up in despair, without finding anything that could relate them to the attacker. The police conducted a major citywide search but ultimately turned up nothing.

It was clearing into April when the Miki family had to accept the grim reality: Sayaka was gone.

Naturally, it went as smooth as one would expect. Both Sayaka's friends and family had gone to comfort Sayaka's parents, with Sayaka's mom temporarily admitted to an asylum from a botched suicide attempt. The house laid disorganized; items scattered everywhere. The employers of both parents had put them on paid leave for an entire year, concerned for their wellbeing.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Miki laid depressed on their couch, their hair was greasy and matted. They haven't showered for a few days, the unkempt look spreading to the rooms around them. The sink was filled with unwashed plates, dust filled the floors; Sayaka's memorabilia scattered everywhere. The lights were off. Everything was silent. There was nothing else left to do.

The doorbell _dinged_, the sound bouncing and scattering throughout the gloomy house. It was met with the shuffling feet as Sayaka's mother sleepwalked towards the front of the door, mustering a false smile to greet whoever was at the door.

She pulled the lock on the door, the handle twisting with an empty swing, filling the room with the sound of escaping air rushing outside.

Sayaka stood outside, rain dripping down her head. Despite the cold and harsh environment, a small smile rose to her face.

"I'm back," she whispered, her words frozen from the rain.

* * *

Sayaka woke up the next morning, tired of the police questioning her all night. As soon as she woke up, her mother barged into her room, carrying a tray of biscuits, fruits, and sausages.

"Good morning, sweetie," she sang with renewed energy in her eyes.

"Morning," Sayaka replied, a grumble and whine buried in her voice. Her eyes twirled around her room, now sparkling clean, devoid of any form of tarnish.

Last night, as soon as she came home, her mother started hugging her without letting her go. Her father immediately ordered Sayaka to rest on the sofa, before dialing the police.

As soon as the house was surrounded by sirens, the police immediately began questioning her. Sayaka, careful of not wanting to expose anything about Homura, instead rambled about someone kidnapping her and going on the run, only for her to escape in a brief stroke of luck. The police were skeptical at first, but later became fully convinced after noting the scuff marks around Sayaka's arms and legs, lasting impressions of the ropes that held her in place.

"I couldn't see his face," Sayaka found herself saying.

"He made sure to keep a bag over my head the entire time! I couldn't see him, I swear!"

"In that case, that concludes the interview."

His shadow wavered for a few moments, before disappearing altogether.

The police department, embarrassed by being bested by the kidnapper, only for the victim to act herself, quickly put the case on hold now that there was no longer any real pressure to solve it. The constant flashing of blue and red soon left Sayaka's window, leaving Sayaka lying in bed in complete and utter darkness.

* * *

April 13 promised itself to be a beautiful day, at least to everyone other than Sayaka. After being dropped off by her parents at school, Sayaka quickly found herself the center of everyone's attention.

"Oh my gosh, I saw the news this morning, I can't believe you're here!"

"Did you really escape on your own?"

"What was the creep like?"

"How close are the police to catching him?"

Sayaka kept on scratching her neck, acting embarrassed, and halfheartedly answering the questions of her peers. She quickly found herself walking backward away from a sudden band of admirers before rushing off to her class. Her sweat dripped down her hair and her adrenaline coursed through her veins.

_Could today just be a normal school day?_

Sayaka only grabbed the edge of her seat at the last second, the bell ringing with finality as always. Sayaka noticed Homura's shadow a few feet away, her presence dominating the room.

Sayaka found herself staring at her kidnapper, eyes locked, with the wind shaking the trees outside delicately, weaving throughout the grass. The bright morning sun, reclaiming control over last night's rainfall, blazing through the glass.

"Thank you for covering for me," Homura spoke, the mental words feeding directly into Sayaka's mind.

"Eheheheh… I mean, you did threaten me…" Sayaka said right back to Homura, the mental link bearing the translation of the words.

The connection was broken off by a large _smack_ when Ms. Saotome slammed the table, waiting for everyone's attention to return.

Sayaka saw Madoka sitting in her seat, staring at Sayaka with intense relief, along with the rest of the class.

"Now that I have everyone's attention," Ms. Saotome said, "I first wanted to welcome back Sayaka Miki!"

The wind from Saotome's mouth spewed all across the classroom, ruffling Sayaka's hair like a hurricane. Around her, all of the students rose in a standing ovation. Sayaka looked onwards with a fearfully amused glance in her eyes, coughing nervously.

Polite applause echoed around the glass doors.

Ms. Saotome walked to the center of the class and started posing, her eyes shut as she started her monologue.

_Oh boy_, Sayaka thought. _Here it comes._

"Now, I cannot begin to explain my reaction yesterday, when the police informed me about Sayaka's amazing escape," Mrs. Saotome said, the light glancing off her glasses, her forehead pressed into a serious frown.

"The running, the shouting, the fighting! Real action! Real drama!" Ms. Saotome continued, her stance in that of an actor, her pointer resembling a mock sword. Sayaka mentally facepalmed.

"This is what a real woman looks like, everyone. Real women stand up straight against their opponents! Real women don't let anyone, especially some random man, run over them!" Ms. Saotome exclaimed. The entire class groaned.

_Of course, she's going to find a way to relate this back to herself_.

"Now, jubilation aside," Ms. Saotome said, her stance and expression returning to normal, "It is April 13, Miss Miki. I know you need to rest for a while, but after that, I want you to study up on your missed classwork."

Sayaka's eyes soon lowered, her expression turned blank. _It's only been 12 minutes, and school's already boring me._

* * *

The bell dinged. At once, the school suddenly roared in chatter. The multicolored reflections of faces scattered across the glass rooms; crowds of eager students hurried off to lunch.

Sayaka grabbed her homemade food, before sitting with Madoka and Hitomi on the roof. However, this time, she found an extra visitor.

Sitting right next to Madoka was Homura who picked at her lunch with boredom.

"Hey! Madoka!" Sayaka greeted, hugging Madoka in a tight embrace, a tiny squeak escaping from Madoka's mouth.

"Didja miss me?"

Sayaka heard a small _yes_ leave Madoka's mouth as she struggled for air.

Letting go of Madoka, Sayaka sat down, her face beaming with renewed energy, before turning her face to Homura.

"Ay! Why's Homura sitting with us today?"

A sudden look of surprise darted between Madoka's and Hitomi's faces. Homura narrowed her eyes.

"Uhh… so while you were missing, she was all alone at lunch, so she asked to join us, and we accepted."

Silence.

"Wait… Homura only transferred into school after you disappeared, uhh… how did you know her name?"

Sayaka's breathing paused, realizing that she overstepped, before salvaging the situation with a white lie.

All eyes were on her.

"Eheheheh… I kinda bumped into her outside of school before all that stuff," Sayaka said, noting the glare in Homura's eyes had disappeared, "I just assumed that she was this 'Homura' that everyone was talking about."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Madoka said, a sincere apologetic look in her eyes.

_Of course_, Sayaka thought,_ that Madoka would apologize, even though most of the time we don't even know what she's apologizing for_.

Everyone ate their lunch silently for a minute, their eyes glancing at the clear blue sky.

"Hey, Sayaka," Hitomi said.

"Yeah?"

"Did you hear about Kyosuke's trip to America?"

"Uhh…"

Sayaka looked at Homura, her eyes asking for an explanation.

"I gave Kyosuke a sheet of paper detailing a treatment facility that can cure his condition. I told him that you found it for him, but never had the chance to give the paper to him," Homura explained, telepathically.

"But… why?" Sayaka mentally asked back.

"So his body can heal, of course. Now, you have no reason to make your wish," Homura, turning back towards her lunch.

"I told him that you found the institution, and now, he's eternally grateful towards you. He's in love with you."

"But… I feel guilty," Sayaka thought back. "You were the one that found that place. I didn't do anything, and I'm taking your credit. This isn't-"

"You were to one who found this place in a previous timeline," Homura said over the telepathic communication. "I'm just transferring this information to the present."

"Oh."

Sayaka felt much relieved, now knowing that Kyusuke was grateful to her for something she'd done, even though it wasn't her present self.

Sayaka turned back to Hitomi, feigning her mental conversation with Homura for pondering.

"Sorry, Hitomi. I did want to tell him about a facility that could cure his hand. It was located in the US all right, but I was kidnapped before I could-"

"I told him for you," Homura said.

Everyone looked between Homura and Sayaka.

"Urm…" Hitomi paused. "What?"

Sayaka rubbed her neck nervously, a drop of sweat crawling down her face.

"Uhh… when I said I met her outside of school, I told her about Kyosuke, and the place that I thought could fix him. I just wasn't sure if it would actually work… …and I didn't know that she was Homura at the time."

The explanation satisfied everyone, although Sayaka could've sworn that Madoka had some doubts. Sayaka wasn't sure just how much Homura had toyed with the various elements of her life.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm just glad that Kyosuke's getting the help he needs now," Hitomi said.

The girls sat together, finishing the rest of their lunch, enjoying their small moments of peace and tranquility.

The sky outside was a clear blue, a quaint rarity amongst a cascade of bizarre and burdening weather.

A small, warm breeze drifted through the air, ruffling everyone's hair, the old weather vane creaking delicately into a song.

* * *

The grenade sank firmly into her shield, the gunpowder followed suit. Homura made her rounds around the military base in China. 36 corrupted grief seeds fell into her shield.

From a normal person's perspective, no time has passed at all. However, 9 entire days of Homura's time stop has ticked by as she stole a boat, piloted it to China, and started harvesting weapons.

Homura first recalled the idea that she could stop for more than one entire day. Of course, it initially seemed impossible. The number of grief seeds needed would be titanic. Besides, once her shield ran out of sand, she couldn't stop time anymore.

Of course, Homura's shield currently contained billions of grief seeds.

She also found that opening her shield and adding more sand was surprisingly easy.

9 hours later, Homura returned to Mitakihara city, her hair matted with sweat from the days she spent frozen in time. She threw the pile of grief seeds at Kyubey who danced around, delicately catching each contraption. Her eyes turned back to Mami, who sat delicately in her chair, sound asleep.

Homura could tell that she had made significant progress. Recently, Mami stopped grieving all the time, although her eyes were still wet sometimes. She started eating and drinking, however reluctantly. Homura could only hold a conversation with her only for a maximum of one minute before Mami fell back into deep thought and despair.

At least it was better than silence.

She walked to the kitchen, poured some hot water, and prepared some of Mami's tea. She took whipped up a quick breakfast, before readying for school.

The teachers had also only noticed Mami's disappearance, her image replacing Sayaka's on the TV. However, since Mami had no immediate family, no interviews were held on TV. However, recently more and more officials spoke on air, convinced that a serial kidnapper was running around Mitakihara, abducting schoolgirls.

She turned on the TV and lowered the volume, making sure not to disturb Mami.

"Concerning Miss Sayaka Miki's return," a male News Anchor spoke to the audience, "we are glad to report that her family is doing fine. We will have additional coverage on this later today around 9:30 AM. "

"Now, continuing with our 6:30 AM broadcast, our current day is April 16, and the weather appears to be clear, with temperatures warming up to the mid-twenties Celsius, so you might want to start breaking out the summer clothes."

"Also, searches for the new missing student from Mitakihara, Mami Tomoe, have yielded no findings, along with the search of her kidnapper. Many officials have speculated that both Mami Tomoe and Sayaka Miki were kidnapped by the same individual, according to official reports detailing that both students participated in the same school together. Their involvement is currently being investigated. More on that later."

"Our final main story focuses on the recent international scandal between Japan and the United States of America. Despite increased security, American Troops and Japanese JSDF bases have noted continuous thefts, with tons of ammunition, bombs, weaponry, and vehicles being stolen from military bases. Strangely enough, US officials have reported that, get this, an entire aircraft carrier was stolen right under their noses last week. Most sailors have reported sitting in their dormitories and workstations, before suddenly 'teleporting' out to sea in their lifeboats. Our news station analysts have calculated that the total thefts have totaled around a couple trillion dollars, although the exact cost is yet unknown."

"Additionally, the United Nations will be sending a commission to Japan due to US nuclear weapons disappearing from US bases stationed in Japan, along with Plutonium stored at Japan's nuclear reactor facilities. Thefts of nuclear arms in South Korea, China, and Russia have also been officially confirmed."

"North Korea has put out a warning yesterday to the international community, announcing harsh retaliation for the individuals who allegedly stole their entire Uranium stockpile."

"Now, focusing on the cancellation of the Olympics due to the recent spreading pande-"

Homura shut off the TV, rubbing her temples as she prepared for the coming day. She grabbed the plates she prepared and brought it into the pendulum room.

When she returned, Homura immediately noticed that Mami was awake. She quietly mumbled aimlessly, turning her eyes to look at Kyubey every so often. Kyubey himself was being strangely well behaved.

Homura gently set the food on a wooden stool next to Mami. She took a fork and stabbed it into a chunk of scrambled eggs. She proceeded to poke Mami's mouth with it. After 2 tries, Mami finally ate, albeit reluctantly. Her soul gem shown brightly a few meters away, cleaned of any impurities.

After a few minutes, Homura took the empty plates and set them in the kitchen sink. She grabbed her backpack and headed.

"Mami, when I get back from school today, I'm going to visit your apartment and grab some of your clothes and accessories. When I'm back, I'm going to have you use the bathroom to get cleaned up. Showering, brushing your teeth, etc."

"As usual, I'll be using magic to detect if you try to harm yourself or escape in any way. If I feel anything, I'll immediately come in and incapacitate you. Understand?"

Mami nodded slowly. Her eyes were empty.

Homura turned around, paused for a moment, before walking away. She hoped that, if she gave Mami time, she would be able to get her head back in the game.

It seemed to be working for now.

Homura set off to school.

* * *

Kyoko's spear smashed into the familiar. She kept walking around, past the worn shops, past the neat little houses, past the modern business offices. Her soul gem shown brilliantly in her hand, her boots crunching the fallen leaves in her path. A harsh wind blew through the alleyway she was in, twilight falling on the pipes on the walls.

Although she was focused solely on hunting witches, Kyoko's mind could help but wonder about Mami.

When she was walking through Mitakihara, Kyoko could help but hear snippets of conversation over and over.

"Did you hear about that Mami girl who went missing?"

"Wait, was it the same person who kidnapped Sayaka?"

"I don't know, it's just that another disappearance is just too coincidental…"

Kyoko didn't know who this Sayaka character was, but she knew that Mami wasn't someone who could be conventionally kidnapped. She snickered at the idea of someone sneaking up on Mami, only for them to be filled with holes by a set of rifles.

_What that Homura girl said really was true, huh?_ Kyoko thought. _Ol' Mami finally bit the dust._

Despite the simplicity of the situation, Kyoko couldn't help but think that something was missing. She also felt uneasy about Homura.

_Why da hell would that girl come to me to take over the city? _Kyoko mused.

_Why didn't she take Mitakihara herself?_

_Somethin' really seems off…_

* * *

Homura crawled up in the futon next to Mami's chair. She had made it a habit to sleep next to Mami in case she tried to pull anything. If Mami broke free and tried to kill herself, Homura would have the necessary time to react.

She could stop time of course, but she didn't want to take any chances.

Homura waved her hand, and the magical light causing the room to shine faded. The pictures floating on the wall slowed to a standstill, and the pendulum muted itself. Kyubey curled up, snoring quietly in the corner. Mami sat unmoving in her chair, appearing to be asleep herself. Homura curled up with her pillow, about to drift off into her dreams when she heard Mami whisper quietly do her.

"How-how do you do it… Homura?"

Homura sat up and illuminated the space between Mami and herself with her soul gem.

Mami set in her chair, her face weary and tired. However, her eyes shown not with pain, but rather in interest.

"What do you mean, Miss Tomoe?"

"You've known about the truth of Magical Girls for a long time, right Homura?"

"That statement is correct."

"…"

"How do you stay motivated?"

Homura shrugged weakly.

"Dying would serve no purpose to anyone."

Silence.

Mami managed a flimsy smile. "You're-you're so strong, Homura. You've been a magical girl for so long, knowing the truth of your fate… …and yet, somehow, you manage to keep fighting."

"Thank you for your appreciation."

"How do you keep fighting, even after knowing the truth? If we end up turning into witches, shouldn't we all just-"

"That is nothing but foolish thinking. Your thoughts are operating on an all-or-nothing basis."

Mami winced at the snappy return.

"I fight for a reason: to protect all of you. Especially Madoka, who means everything to me. I would risk turning to a witch or having my soul gem shatter if it meant I could see her smile."

Mami stared at Homura, her interest sated.

"Ahh… …so that's it. You're risking your fate for your friends."

"Well, what purpose do you find worth risking witchification for?"

Mami laughed weakly at Homura's question.

"Me? Haha… …I don't have anything left… My family has been long gone, and I'm currently all alone. I don't have anyone left to fight for..."

Homura frowned.

"Think of it this way. If you die, who will protect the town from witches, who will protect people like Sayaka?"

Mami remained silent, pondering the thought.

"If you really don't have anything to fight for, why do you keep protecting this town? Can't you see your purpose for fighting right in front of you?"

"But… but…" Mami stuttered.

"In the past, you, Sayaka, Kyoko, and Madoka become wonderful friends. Don't give up on that future because of some of your unfounded security issues."

Mami shifted uncomfortably in her chains.

"I- I honestly don't know what to do…"

"Just remember: Your death won't help anyone. If you were to disappear, a lot of people would be pretty sad. Just look at the TV! Every single day, dozens of police officers are looking for you. At school, all of the teachers and students are waiting for you to return!"

"If you were to destroy yourself right now, you would only be making a selfish decision. Not only would you be hurting all of your peers and instructors, but you will also be abandoning the citizens of this town to the mercy of witches. Are you really going to do that?"

Mami paused.

Silence.

"No, I won't."

Homura smiled.

"Good. In that case, get up and fight. If you are going to turn into a witch, you might as well fight for enough hope for everyone else to account for your own despair. I want you to fight for the hopes and dreams of everyone in this city."

"Just like how I'm fighting for the future of my friends, I want you to fight for the future of your people."

A minute of silence passed between Homura and Mami.

"In 2 weeks, Walpurgisnacht is going to show up."

Mami suddenly gasped, staring at Homura with horrified eyes.

"Really? Are you serious?"

Homura nodded.

"I have never been more serious. If you truly care about the people of this city… …can you fight with me?"

Mami hesitated. Beads of sweat dripped down her face. Homura's soul gem cast a pulsing purple glow across the room, causing the shadows to dance wildly on the walls. Kyubey continued to snore contently.

"I'll have to think about it…" she said, wincing in guilt.

Homura shrugged.

"Take your time. I won't force you to fight. This is my burden and my burden alone. However, if you feel like proving your loyalty to the people, if you want to fulfill your promise and purpose to protect your friends, I suggest you ally yourself with me."

Mami slumped in her chains, deep in thought.

Homura turned around.

"Mami, remember. I locked you up in here so that you won't do anything irrational to yourself. In the past, you've always snapped when encountering the truth because you never had the time to think things over. I want you to consider everything carefully, before making your decision."

Mami remained silent. Sensing that the conversation was over, Homura sighed, extinguishing the light from her soul gem, the room falling into darkness once more.

"Goodnight, Mami."

"Go-goodnight, Homura."

* * *

Madoka returned home from school on April 19. It had almost been an entire week since Sayaka had returned.

Sayaka had reverted to her old self. Every single day, she, Madoka, and Hitomi would walk to school together, chasing each other around, telling each other jokes, and teasing each other.

Today was no different. Sayaka had jumped out of the bushes near Madoka, with both Madoka and Hitomi screaming in shock. Sayaka had both proceeded to chase them to school, laughing all the way.

Hitomi and Madoka quickly grew fond of Sayaka's childish antics.

However, something felt off.

Later that afternoon, Sayaka, Madoka, and Hitomi bade each other farewell, before splitting up to head to their respective homes. Madoka was walking alone through the alleyway to her house. She crossed under the arches and bridges in her path, her shoes echoing on the loose cobblestone under her. The windows of the skyscrapers were glazed in water, all that was left of last night's rain.

_If everything is normal again, then why does everything feel off?_

Madoka felt like she was missing something important. She felt as if she had forgotten about something big, something life-changing.

_Eh… I'm probably just still adjusting to Sayaka's return. There's no other reason why I feel so "off…"_

Still, she felt as if she had a mysterious connection to the voice that she heard in the mall and, oddly enough, Homura, who hadn't said anything strange to Madoka after their initial talk. Whenever Madoka approached her, she would just act straightforwardly as usual.

Madoka remembered her latest dream where she was standing in a broken version of Mitakihara with Homura next to her. She also dreamt of a white… cat(or something like it) sitting and talking to her.

Madoka chuckled to herself.

_If I had forgotten something, it must have not been important_, she thought, heading home.

The arches and windows around her glinted gold in the sunset.


End file.
